Government Relations Report Yangyang Cheng USLUA Annual Meeting 10/26/2018
Outline • Report on advocacy trips to DC • Highlights from outreach activities • Suggestions and thoughts for future advocacy Special thanks to Harvey Newman and Joseph Zennamo for slide materials, and many in the USLUA community for helpful inputs and feedback! 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 2
Who Do USLUA Represent? US LHC 2000 Scientists, engineers, students and technicians from 96 US institutions in 33 US States and Puerto Rico 3 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng
History of DC Advocacy Trip • For 35 years, members of three major HEP associations in the US, Fermilab UEC, USLUA, and SLAC Users Org, have visited DC during budget season in March • Goal : meet with representatives from congressional offices, key congressional committees, and executive branch offices • Message : – Convey gratitude for their support for basic research and HEP in particular – Share our excitement for our work – Communicate the value of HEP to society and their constituents in particular – Advocate for continued federal support March, 2018 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 4
DC Advocacy Trip at a Glance • Trip organized by Fermilab UEC, USLUA, & SLUO • Dedicated software tool assigns trip attendees to congressional offices as “primary” & “secondary” based on their connections to the offices etc. – “primaries” contact the offices to schedule the meetings • Before the trip, a unified message (“the ask”) is agreed upon. Material packets are prepared and training sessions held on logistics, communications, etc. • Over the course of three (up to four) days, the diverse delegation (~50ppl) representing 6,000+ HEPers in US visit as many offices as possible #HEPTakesTheHill 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 5
HEP DC Trip October 2017: 7 person “Task Force” Targeting Key Offices and Committees Andrea Albert, Brian Nord, Yangyang Cheng, Sarah Demers, Corrinne Mills, Breese Quinn, Harvey Newman (slide c/o Harvey Newman) 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 6
DC Trip 2018: WHIPS Tool 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 7
DC Trip 2018: Training • A series of training sessions were held to inform trip attendees of logistics, US government structure and the budget/funding process, and how to best convey our messages to Congress • In particular, a science communications curriculum was developed with broad & future use potential – aimed to teach communication strategies and best practices to scientists for science – Provide a clear and concise message – identifying the clear benefits to society of fundamental research – clarify the goals to make a lasting impression in the minds of the people we talked to 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 8
DC Trip 2018: Coverage • 54 trip attendees – 34 FNAL UEC, 13 USLUA, 7 SLAC • 9 from USLUA are LR winners – 22 women – 35 early career 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 9
Trip Material: Overview & Highlights For each congressional office, when available, bring a sheet of NSF & DOE grants received in the district / state: we have prepared software tools and procurement spreadsheets so this info is easily obtainable r 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 10
Trip Material: P5 Report and Progress • Anchor our messaging in the P5 report and its progress – P5: Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel – Considerable name-recognition on the Hill (not 100%) • The P5 report codifies the community’s desire to be good stewards of the taxpayer’s monies – All projects have been on budget and on schedule 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 11
DC Trip 2018: Highlights 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 12
DC Trip 2018: Outcome & Reflections FY17 FY18 HEP Total 825M 908M “ it was absolutely one of the most empowering experiences I've ever gotten the chance to participate in, so thank you so much to you and all the other organizers for organizing this and for inviting me.” – USLUA participant from LR 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 13
Communications and Outreach (slide c/o J. Zennamo) 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 14
USA Science&Engineering Festival April 7-8, 2018 @Walter E. Washington Convention Center 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 15
Suggestions for Future DC Trips In preparation for the trips • More hands-on, in person if possible, training to practice the pitch and tailor it to the individual offices • More background information on US congress and funding process, especially for first-time participants and immigrants • Formally include funding/grants for each district/state (when applicable) in the packets as they were hugely popular – plus information on HEP scientists who originated from the district/state In selecting delegates • Trip attendees should be selected based on their ability to communicate and represent our field well, not on academic seniority In preparation for and duration of the trip, young scientists & members from underrepresented groups should be given adequate support from the entire delegation and the community at large 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 16
More Thoughts on Science Advocacy • The DC trips have a long history of effective advocacy and the message is specific & focused for its purpose • However, if science advocacy is limited to *asking for more funding*, it would be a disservice to our community • Science is done by scientists and scientists are people. The value of our community is not determined by a line in the budget but ultimately by the people it has and the future generations What more can USLUA and the HEP community do in cases of government policies, political rhetoric, and the resulting climate that undermine scientific collaboration and threaten the wellbeing of scientists? 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 17
THANK YOU! 10/26/2018 USLUA Gov Relations | Yangyang Cheng 18
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